Starting November 2, 2020, all employers covered by Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance Law must notify employees at the time of all separations about the availability of unemployment insurance. The new requirement is pursuant to an emergency rule passed last month by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and approved by Governor Parson.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act became law on March 18, 2020. Under the Act, the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act of 2020 (EUISAA) provides $1 billion in emergency grants to states to administer unemployment insurance programs. In order to receive the EUISAA grants, states must take certain actions to be eligible. One EUISAA grant requirement is that the “State requires employers to provide notification of the availability of unemployment compensation to employees at the time of separation from employment. Such notification may be based on model notification language issued by the Secretary of Labor.”
Wisconsin’s rule requires each employer to provide notification of the availability of unemployment insurance to employees at the time of separation from employment by at least one of the following methods:
- Letter
- Text message
- Flyer
- Any other department-approved method designed to give immediate notice to employees of the availability of unemployment insurance at the time of separation
If an employer does not comply with the new rule, an employee will be allowed to backdate the unemployment insurance benefit claim. This can result in additional benefits charged to the employer’s unemployment insurance account in the Trust Fund.
Covered employers should create their own notice or use the Unemployment Insurance notice supplied by the state’s Unemployment Insurance Division to remain compliant.
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